Multi-directional navigation between focus points on a display

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for navigating between different focus points displayed on an electronic device, comprising, for each of said different focus points, maintaining a list of any adjacent ones of said focus points to which focus can move in each direction responsive to a navigation event in said direction, for each said list having only one adjacent focus point moving focus to said one adjacent focus point responsive to said navigation event, and for each said list having more than one adjacent focus point accessing a memory setting and moving focus to a predetermined one of said adjacent focus points responsive to said navigation event in accordance with said memory setting.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 12/390,984, filed Feb.23, 2009, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present specification relates generally to electronic devices, andin particular to a method and apparatus for navigating between differentfocus points displayed on an electronic device.

Multidirectional pointing devices are known in the art for providingnavigation between different focus points displayed on an electronicdevice, such as a smart phone, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA),portable electronic game, etc. Examples of such pointing devices includetrackballs and +-shaped navigation buttons that are commonly found onelectronic game controllers for providing on-screen navigation in fourdirections: up, down, left and right. When multiple application iconsand/or user interface buttons and/or item lists are displayed on adevice home screen, it is possible to move focus betweenicons/buttons/lists (i.e. different focus points) by moving the pointingdevice upward, downward, left and right.

It is contemplated that such electronic devices may also providecustomizable home screens wherein the applications/buttons/lists, etc.may be placed anywhere on the home screen of the electronic device. Theimplementation of such customizable home screens gives rise to a problemof how movement of the pointing device will move the focus between thedifferent points. This problem can be particularly challenging when aone-to-many mapping is defined between focus points. In addition, anavigation model that is appropriate for one home screen may not workfor other home screens.

Consequently, it is desirable to provide a method and apparatus fornavigating between different focus points displayed on an electronicdevice, to accommodate multiple different customizable home screens.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments will be better understood with reference to thefollowing Figures in which like numerals denote like parts and in which:

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a wireless communication system;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of components of a portable electronic device;

FIGS. 3A-3D are screen shot representations of a graphical userinterface of the portable electronic device in FIG. 2 showing exemplaryhome screen configurations having icons representing different focuspoints; and

FIGS. 4A-4D, are flowcharts showing exemplary methods of navigatingbetween different focus points displayed on the electronic device ofFIG. 2 for the exemplary home screen configurations of screen shotrepresentations of FIGS. 3A-3D, according to four respective memorysettings.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In general, a method and apparatus are provided for navigating betweendifferent focus points displayed on an electronic device.

According to one aspect, there may be provided an electronic device,comprising a display for displaying different focus points; amulti-directional input device for generating navigation events inmultiple directions; a memory for maintaining a list for each of saiddifferent focus points of any adjacent ones of said focus points towhich focus can move in each direction responsive to a navigation eventin said direction and a memory setting for each said list having morethan one adjacent focus point; and a processor for accessing said memoryresponsive to a navigation event in one of said multiple directions andin the event said list has only one adjacent focus point then movingfocus to said one adjacent focus point and in the event said list hasmore than one adjacent focus point then moving focus to a predeterminedone of said adjacent focus points in accordance with said memorysetting.

According to another aspect, there may be provided a method ofnavigating between different focus points displayed on an electronicdevice, comprising for each of said different focus points maintaining alist of any adjacent ones of said focus points to which focus can movein each direction responsive to a navigation event in said direction,for each said list having only one adjacent focus point moving focus tosaid one adjacent focus point responsive to said navigation event; andfor each said list having more than one adjacent focus point accessing amemory setting and moving focus to a predetermined one of said adjacentfocus points responsive to said navigation event in accordance with saidmemory setting.

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of an exemplary communicationsystem 10 for a portable electronic device 12. According to theillustrated embodiment, the portable electronic device 12 is operable toeffect communications over a radio communications channel andcommunicates with a base station (not shown) while located within acoverage area that is defined by the base station. However, the portableelectronic device 12 is not limited to a device capable of effectingcommunications. Indeed, the exemplary method of navigating betweendifferent focus points set forth in greater detail below, mayadvantageously be implemented within a multitude of devices, some ofwhich are capable of communications and others of which are not (e.g.PDAs, mobile phones, smart telephones, laptop computers, electronicgames, GPS receivers, etc.).

In the illustrated embodiment, the base station is part of a wirelessnetwork that is in communication with the Internet 14. Data is deliveredto the portable electronic device 12 via wireless transmission from thebase station. Similarly, data is sent from the portable electronicdevice 12 via wireless transmission to the base station.

It will be appreciated that the portable electronic device 12 of FIG. 1is movable within a coverage area of the base station and can be movedto coverage areas defined by other base stations. Further, as will beunderstood by one of ordinary skill in the art, wireless networksinclude GSM/GPRS, CDPD, TDMA, iDEN, Mobitex, DataTAC networks, EDGE,EVDO or UMTS and broadband networks such as Bluetooth and variants of802.11.

A server 18 handles wireless client requests from the portableelectronic device 12. A firewall16 is provided between the server 18 andthe Internet 14. The server 18 further operates as a Mail Server, whichcommunicates with an email client of the portable electronic device 12to allow a user to send and receive email messages.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing certain components within an exemplaryembodiment of the portable electronic device 12. The portable electronicdevice 12 includes a processor 20 connected to a read-only-memory (ROM)21 that contains a plurality of applications executable by the processor20 for enabling each portable electronic device 12 to perform certainfunctions including, for example, Personal Identification Number (PIN)message functions, Short Message Service (SMS) message functions,address book and calendaring functions, camera functions, and cellulartelephone functions. More particularly, processor 20 may executeapplications within ROM 21 for notifying the user of events such asincoming calls and/or emails, appointments, tasks, etc. The processor 20is also connected to a random access memory unit (RAM) 22 and apersistent storage device 23 to facilitate various non-volatile storagefunctions of the portable electronic device 12. The processor 20receives input from one or more input devices, including a keypad 24Aand a multi-directional device such as a trackball 24B. Othermulti-directional devices are contemplated, such as touch pads, +-shapedgame buttons, etc. The processor 20 outputs to one or more outputdevices, including a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) display 25. Amicrophone 26 and phone speaker 27 are connected to the processor 20 forcellular telephone functions. The processor 20 is also connected to amodem and radio device 28. The modem and radio device 28 is used toconnect to wireless networks and transmit and receive voice and datacommunications through an antenna 29. A camera 30 provides functionalityfor taking pictures that can be viewed on display 25, sent to otherusers via wireless email, saved to persistent storage 23 for laterviewing, etc.

In the context of this specification and the exemplary embodimentillustrated in the drawings, “user interface” comprises an input device(such as keypad 24A, trackball 24B, etc.) and at least one graphicalwindow displayed via an output device (such as display 25).

According to a first aspect of this detailed description, as shown inFIGS. 3A-3D, the user interface of portable electronic device 12 may beconfigured according to a plurality of customizable home screens whereinbuttons, application icons, lists, etc. may be placed anywhere on thedisplay 25. As discussed above, in order to accommodate suchcustomizable home screens a method is provided for defining howmovements of the trackball 24B result in moving the focus betweendifferent focusable points (i.e. buttons, application icons, etc).

For example, it may be desirable to move focus from one point to one ofa plurality of other points when the trackball 24B is moved in a singledirection (e.g. a common theme results in pushing up from anyapplication always to an Options application, while pushing down fromthe Options application returns to the previous application).

FIGS. 3A-3D depict several examples of home screens according todifferent customizable themes that provide for navigation betweendifferent focus points displayed on electronic device 12, according toexemplary embodiments.

In FIG. 3A, an exemplary home screen is shown with five applicationicons: a central ‘Options’ application icon surrounded by Messages,Address Book, Phone and Calendar application icons, wherein navigationpaths between the applications are illustrated using double-sidedarrows. These navigation arrows are illustrated for the purpose ofexplaining the exemplary method but would not, normally, be shown on thedisplay 25 during ordinary usage. Thus, from the Options application(center) pushing trackball 24B in any direction (up, down, left orright) will result in focus moving to the application icon positioned inthat direction (i.e. Messages, Phone, Calendar or Address Book,respectively).

As described in greater detail below with reference to FIG. 4A, asolution to the configuration of FIG. 3A, wherein it is desirable forfocus to always return to a predetermined application, may be providedby implementing a memory configuration wherein the device 12 does notneed to ‘remember’ any previous point. Rather, device 12 may beprogrammed to return focus to the same application each time trackball24B is moved in the direction of that application. This implementationof memory is referred to herein as “None” since the device 12 does notneed remember any previous focus points.

In the example of FIG. 3B, a home screen theme has been constructed suchthat two navigation paths exist to the left of the Calendar application.That is, pushing trackball 24B to the right when either of the Messagesor Phone application icons is in focus will result in focus moving tothe Calendar application icon. However, a problem arises if trackball24B is pushed to the left when the Calendar application icon is in focussince it is unclear which of the Messages or Phone application iconsshould gain focus. In some configurations, it may be desirable thatfocus should return to the previous application icon (i.e. pushing thetrackball 24B right from Phone to Calendar means that pushing thetrackball 24B to the left from the Calendar icon will return focus tothe Phone icon). In other configurations, it may be desirable that focusshould always return to a predetermined application regardless of whichapplication icon focus came from (i.e. pushing the trackball 24B leftfrom the Calendar icon always returns focus to Messages, even if focuspreviously shifted right to Calendar from Phone).

As described in greater detail below, a solution for configurations inwhich it is desirable that focus should return to the previousapplication icon is provided by ‘remembering’ the last focus point fromwhich focus has been obtained. Thus, device 12 may be programmed to savethe last icon from which focus has been received. In the example of FIG.3B if the Calendar application icon obtains focus from the Phoneapplication, then when trackball 24B is next pushed to the left it mustreturn focus to the Phone application icon. This implementation ofmemory is referred to herein as “one-step memory” since device 12 isrequired to store only one previous shift in focus.

In the example of FIG. 3C, two columns of application icons are providedwith one application icon (Options) serving as the center point.Navigation between icons in a single column is effected by pushingtrackball 24B up or down (e.g. navigating between Messages and Calendar)and navigation to the other column is effected by navigating through thecenter icon (Options). Therefore, in order to navigate betweenapplication icons on the home screen theme of FIG. 3C, more than onetype of memory functionality is required. For example, if focus movesfrom Messages to Calendar, then to Options, Address Book, Phone andfinally back to Options, if trackball 24B is next pushed left fromOptions, a memory configuration must be provided to select which ofMessages or Calendar is put in focus.

According to the ‘one-step memory’ navigation model discussed above,device 12 remembers that the Options icon obtained focus from Phone.However, Phone is not an application that can be reached by pushingtrackball 24B to the left. Thus, under the ‘one-step’ model, it is notpossible to “remember” that the shift in focus to Options from the leftcolumn originally came from the Calendar application.

Therefore, as described in greater detail below, a “full” or“directional” memory configuration is provided so that instead ofremembering only which application focus has been obtained from, device12 remembers each last application in each direction from which focushas been obtained. In the example of FIG. 3C, the device 12 thereforeremembers that the Options application icon has received focus from theCalendar application icon in the left column such that when trackball24B is next pushed left, focus returns to the Calendar application. Iftrackball 24B is next pushed up to Messages and right to Options,Messages then replaces Calendar as the application icon that gains focuswhen trackball 24B is next pushed left from Options.

The example of FIG. 3D is similar to the example of FIG. 3C with theexception that the Options application in the center is replaced with agroup application (SMS and MMS) and its corresponding sub-entries(individual unread “Welcome” messages). Therefore, as described ingreater detail below, a “group” memory configuration is provided so thatitems may be grouped together and handled as a single atomic unit. Forgroup navigation according to the “group” memory configuration, focusmoves are only recorded when focus leaves the group. Thus, pushingtrackball 24B left and right records focus, whereas vertical navigationwithin the sub-entries are not recorded. When using the “group” memoryconfiguration focus points must be placed inside a logical groupconstruct used to record and remember the focus points from which thefocus is obtained.

With reference to each of FIGS. 4A-4D, a method is provided fornavigating between different focus points displayed on electronic device12. At step 400, a list is maintained in memory 22, for each focuspoint, of any adjacent focus points to which focus can move in eachdirection, responsive to a navigation event in that direction.Therefore, each list may contain zero (empty list) or more focus pointsto which focus can move in a given direction. If the list is empty (Nil)for a particular direction, then navigation movements in that directionare ignored. If the list contains only one entry, then the applicationassociated with the icon identified by that entry always receives focuswhen a navigation event in that direction is received. If the listcontains more than one entry, then the focus point that receives focusis determined by a memory setting. More particularly, a memory settingis maintained (step 405) such that for each list having more than oneadjacent focus point for movement of focus is resolved between themultiple adjacent focus points. According to an exemplary embodiment,four memory settings are provided, as follows: None (FIG. 4A), One-step(FIG. 4B), Full (FIG. 4C) and Group (FIG. 4D).

In the method of FIG. 4A, wherein the memory setting is “None”, focus isalways given to the first application in the list. This memory settingis useful for a home screen theme such as depicted in FIG. 3A, in whichcase the following lists are maintained in memory 22:

List Up Down Left Right Options Messages Phone Calendar Address BookCalendar Nil Nil Nil Options Phone Options Nil Nil Nil Messages NilOptions Nil Nil Address Book Nil Nil Options Nil

Thus, at step 410, responsive to a navigation event, the foregoing listsare accessed in memory 22 (step 415) according to the direction of thenavigation event. If there is an entry in the list for that direction(i.e. a “Yes” at step 420), then focus is moved to the icon entry in thelist (step 425). Otherwise, the navigation event is ignored (step 430).Thus, for each list having only one adjacent focus point focus moves tothat one adjacent focus point (i.e. the “None” memory setting providesconsistent prediction of which application will receive focus).

In the method of FIG. 4B, wherein the memory setting is “One-step”,memory 22 stores the identifier of the focus point from which focus waslast received. With reference to FIG. 3B, the following information ismaintained in memory 22:

List Up Down Left Right Calendar Nil Nil Messages/Phone Nil (One-stepmemory) Phone Messages Nil Nil Calendar Messages Nil Phone Nil Calendar

Thus, in the event that there is more than one entry in the list for aparticular direction (i.e. a “Yes” at step 435), focus moves to theprevious entry from which focus last moved (step 440). The memory 22 isthen updated to reflect the new “previous” adjacent focus point (step445). The one-step identifier is stored in a generic variable that isnot associated with navigation direction. When focus leaves a currentfocus point, the exemplary method accesses memory 22 to identify theprevious focus point in the direction list and if present, gives focusto that point. Thus, in the example of FIG. 3B, one of either Message orPhone is saved in the one-step memory 22 such that when moving focus tothe left from the Calendar, the previous one of Message or Phone isselected. If no value has been stored in the one-step memory 22, then bydefault the first application in the list is selected (i.e. Messages inthe example of FIG. 3B).

The Full memory setting saves the identifier of the point from whichfocus was received and stores it in one of four variables, each oneassociated with a direction. Thus, the navigation method of FIG. 4C issimilar to that of FIG. 4B except that when focus leaves a currentpoint, the appropriate directional memory variable is checked in memory22. More particularly, if more than one direction of navigation ispossible then if the identifier can be found in the list of focus pointsfor that direction, focus is moved to that focus point (step 455) andthe memory 22 is updated with the new directional variable (step 460).If the variable is unassigned, focus is given to the first point in thelist.

Thus, for the exemplary home screen of FIG. 3C, the followinginformation is maintained in memory 22:

List Up Down Left Right Options Nil Nil Messages/ Address Book/ CalendarPhone Calendar Messages Nil Nil Options Address Book Nil Phone OptionsNil Phone Address Book Nil Options Nil Messages Nil Calendar Nil Options

It will be noted that the Left entry in the Options list is“Messages/Calendar” and the Right entry is “Address Book/Phone”,indicating that the memory variable for the Left entry is one of eitherMessages or Calendar based on which one of Messages or Calendar theOptions icon received focus from to its left, and the memory variablefor the Right entry is one of either Address Book or Phone based onwhich one of Address Book or Phone the Options icon received focus fromto its right.

The Group memory setting is used to logically group a set of points intoan atomic unit. Thus, referring again to FIG. 4C, if focus moves to sucha group object (i.e. a “Yes” at step 465), then additional focus movesbetween items within the group are effected in accordance with thedirection of the navigation events but without remembering movementbetween focus points in the group. The points that use the Group memorysetting must be children of a group object and store the identifiers inthe parent object.

More particularly, with reference to FIG. 4D, once focus has movedwithin the group, if the navigation event points to an item within thegroup (i.e. a “Yes” at step 470), lists are accessed in memory 22 (step475) according to the direction of the navigation event. If there is anentry in the list for that direction (i.e. a “Yes” at step 480), thenfocus is moved to the child entry in the list (step 485). Otherwise, thenavigation event is ignored (step 490). If the navigation event is notwithin the group (i.e. a “No” at step 470), then focus leaves the groupand the identifier for the group is stored (step 495 in FIG. 4C). Theparent group object must have a memory setting other than “Group” andfollow the rules for that setting when deciding where focus should moveto (steps 415 et seq).

Specific embodiments have been shown and described herein. However,modifications and variations may occur to those skilled in the art. Forexample, although the exemplary embodiment has been described in termsof implementation on a portable handheld electronic device, theprinciples set forth herein may be applied to other devices such asdesktop computers, etc. All such modifications and variations arebelieved to be within the sphere and scope of the present embodiment.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An electronic device, comprising: a displaybeing configured for displaying different focus points; amulti-directional input device being configured for generatingnavigation events in multiple directions; a memory being configured formaintaining (i) a list for each of said different focus points of anyadjacent ones of said focus points to which focus can move in eachdirection responsive to a navigation event in said direction and (ii) amemory setting for each said list having more than one adjacent focuspoint for resolving focus moves as between adjacent focus points; and aprocessor being configured for accessing said memory responsive to anavigation event in one of said multiple directions and in the eventsaid list has only one adjacent focus point then moving focus to saidone adjacent focus point and in the event said list has more than oneadjacent focus point then moving focus in accordance with said memorysetting, characterized in that said memory setting is adapted to causefocus to move to one of said adjacent focus points in said listassociated with the direction of said navigation event and from whichfocus was last received.
 2. The electronic device of claim 1, whereinsaid multi-directional input device comprises a trackball.
 3. A methodof navigating between different focus points displayed on a display ofan electronic device having a processor, comprising: generatingnavigation events in multiple directions by a multi-directional inputdevice; for each of said different focus points maintaining a list ofany adjacent ones of said focus points to which focus can move in eachdirection responsive to a navigation event in said direction; for eachsaid list having more than one adjacent focus point maintaining a memorysetting for resolving focus moves as between said adjacent focus points;and responsive to a navigation event, for each said list having only oneadjacent focus point moving focus to said one adjacent focus point, andfor each said list having more than one adjacent focus point, theprocessor accessing said memory setting and moving focus in accordancewith said memory setting, characterized in that said memory settingcauses focus to move to one of said adjacent focus points in said listassociated with the direction of said navigation event and from whichfocus was last received.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein said multipledirections are up, down, left and right relative to said display.
 5. Themethod of claim 3, wherein said one of said adjacent focus points is alogical group of items and said focus moves between said items withinsaid group are not recorded.
 6. The method of claim 4, wherein said oneof said adjacent focus points is a logical group of items and said focusmoves between said items within said group are not recorded.
 7. Themethod of claim 3, further comprising displaying said focus pointsaccording to a predetermined theme arrangement.
 8. The method of claim4, further comprising displaying said focus points according to apredetermined theme arrangement.
 9. The method of claim 5, furthercomprising displaying said focus points according to a predeterminedtheme arrangement.
 10. The method of claim 6, further comprisingdisplaying said focus points according to a predetermined themearrangement.
 11. The method of claim 7, wherein said predetermined themearrangement comprises one of either: a plurality of focus pointssurrounding a further central focus point, wherein navigation in anydirection from said central focus point results in focus moving to oneof said plurality of focus points positioned in said direction, andnavigation from one of said plurality of focus points said in anopposite direction returns focus to said central focus point; aplurality of focus points disposed to one side of a further focus point,wherein navigation in a direction from any one of said plurality offocus points toward said further focus point results in focus moving tosaid further focus point, and navigation from said further focus pointtoward any one of said plurality of focus points returns focus to apredetermined one of said plurality of focus points; a plurality offocus points disposed to one side of a further focus point, whereinnavigation in a direction from any one of said plurality of focus pointstoward said further focus point results in focus moving to said furtherfocus point, and navigation from said further focus point toward any oneof said plurality of focus points returns focus to said one of saidplurality of focus points; or a first plurality of focus points disposedon one side of a further focus point and a second plurality of focuspoints disposed on another side of said further focus point, whereinnavigation in a direction from any one of said first plurality of focuspoints toward said further focus point results in focus moving to saidfurther focus point and further navigation from said further focus pointin said direction toward any one of said second plurality of focuspoints moves focus to said one of said second plurality of focus points,and navigation in an opposite direction from said one of said secondplurality of focus points toward said further focus point results infocus moving to said further focus point and further navigation in saidopposite direction toward one of said first plurality of focus pointsreturns focus to said one of said first plurality of focus points. 12.The method of claim 8, wherein said predetermined theme arrangementcomprises one of either: a plurality of focus points surrounding afurther central focus point, wherein navigation in any direction fromsaid central focus point results in focus moving to one of saidplurality of focus points positioned in said direction, and navigationfrom one of said plurality of focus points said in an opposite directionreturns focus to said central focus point; a plurality of focus pointsdisposed to one side of a further focus point, wherein navigation in adirection from any one of said plurality of focus points toward saidfurther focus point results in focus moving to said further focus point,and navigation from said further focus point toward any one of saidplurality of focus points returns focus to a predetermined one of saidplurality of focus points; a plurality of focus points disposed to oneside of a further focus point, wherein navigation in a direction fromany one of said plurality of focus points toward said further focuspoint results in focus moving to said further focus point, andnavigation from said further focus point toward any one of saidplurality of focus points returns focus to said one of said plurality offocus points; or a first plurality of focus points disposed on one sideof a further focus point and a second plurality of focus points disposedon another side of said further focus point, wherein navigation in adirection from any one of said first plurality of focus points towardsaid further focus point results in focus moving to said further focuspoint and further navigation from said further focus point in saiddirection toward any one of said second plurality of focus points movesfocus to said one of said second plurality of focus points, andnavigation in an opposite direction from said one of said secondplurality of focus points toward said further focus point results infocus moving to said further focus point and further navigation in saidopposite direction toward one of said first plurality of focus pointsreturns focus to said one of said first plurality of focus points. 13.The method of claim 9, wherein said predetermined theme arrangementcomprises one of either: a plurality of focus points surrounding afurther central focus point, wherein navigation in any direction fromsaid central focus point results in focus moving to one of saidplurality of focus points positioned in said direction, and navigationfrom one of said plurality of focus points said in an opposite directionreturns focus to said central focus point; a plurality of focus pointsdisposed to one side of a further focus point, wherein navigation in adirection from any one of said plurality of focus points toward saidfurther focus point results in focus moving to said further focus point,and navigation from said further focus point toward any one of saidplurality of focus points returns focus to a predetermined one of saidplurality of focus points; a plurality of focus points disposed to oneside of a further focus point, wherein navigation in a direction fromany one of said plurality of focus points toward said further focuspoint results in focus moving to said further focus point, andnavigation from said further focus point toward any one of saidplurality of focus points returns focus to said one of said plurality offocus points; or a first plurality of focus points disposed on one sideof a further focus point and a second plurality of focus points disposedon another side of said further focus point, wherein navigation in adirection from any one of said first plurality of focus points towardsaid further focus point results in focus moving to said further focuspoint and further navigation from said further focus point in saiddirection toward any one of said second plurality of focus points movesfocus to said one of said second plurality of focus points, andnavigation in an opposite direction from said one of said secondplurality of focus points toward said further focus point results infocus moving to said further focus point and further navigation in saidopposite direction toward one of said first plurality of focus pointsreturns focus to said one of said first plurality of focus points. 14.The method of claim 10, wherein said predetermined theme arrangementcomprises one of either: a plurality of focus points surrounding afurther central focus point, wherein navigation in any direction fromsaid central focus point results in focus moving to one of saidplurality of focus points positioned in said direction, and navigationfrom one of said plurality of focus points said in an opposite directionreturns focus to said central focus point; a plurality of focus pointsdisposed to one side of a further focus point, wherein navigation in adirection from any one of said plurality of focus points toward saidfurther focus point results in focus moving to said further focus point,and navigation from said further focus point toward any one of saidplurality of focus points returns focus to a predetermined one of saidplurality of focus points; a plurality of focus points disposed to oneside of a further focus point, wherein navigation in a direction fromany one of said plurality of focus points toward said further focuspoint results in focus moving to said further focus point, andnavigation from said further focus point toward any one of saidplurality of focus points returns focus to said one of said plurality offocus points; or a first plurality of focus points disposed on one sideof a further focus point and a second plurality of focus points disposedon another side of said further focus point, wherein navigation in adirection from any one of said first plurality of focus points towardsaid further focus point results in focus moving to said further focuspoint and further navigation from said further focus point in saiddirection toward any one of said second plurality of focus points movesfocus to said one of said second plurality of focus points, andnavigation in an opposite direction from said one of said secondplurality of focus points toward said further focus point results infocus moving to said further focus point and further navigation in saidopposite direction toward one of said first plurality of focus pointsreturns focus to said one of said first plurality of focus points. 15.The method of claim 7, wherein said focus points comprise display iconsfor launching Options, Messages, Address Book, Phone and Calendarapplications on said electronic device.
 16. The method of claim 8,wherein said focus points comprise display icons for launching Options,Messages, Address Book, Phone and Calendar applications on saidelectronic device.
 17. The method of claim 9, wherein said focus pointscomprise display icons for launching Options, Messages, Address Book,Phone and Calendar applications on said electronic device.
 18. Themethod of claim 10, wherein said focus points comprise display icons forlaunching Options, Messages, Address Book, Phone and Calendarapplications on said electronic device.
 19. The method of claim 11,wherein said focus points comprise display icons for launching Options,Messages Address Book, Phone and Calendar applications on saidelectronic device.
 20. The method of claim 12, wherein said focus pointscomprise display icons for launching Options, Messages, Address Book,Phone and Calendar applications on said electronic device.
 21. Themethod of claims 13, wherein said focus points comprise display iconsfor launching Options, Messages, Address Book, Phone and Calendarapplications on said electronic device.
 22. The method of claim 14,wherein said focus points comprise display icons for launching Options,Messages, Address Book, Phone and Calendar applications on saidelectronic device.